Digitising Direct Marketing: a response to GDPR?

October 2017

Did you know that a recent poll (World Federation of Advertisers) found that more than 70% of businesses feel that they are not prepared for the introduction of the GDPR? There is a lot of uncertainty over the final regulations and the impact they will have upon the marketing sector, with more clarification due to be issued in December 2017. There are already many whitepapers published on the subject so we will not add to the list.

However, have you considered the digital alternatives to direct marketing that may help you meet your marketing objectives post GDPR? If not then read on…

The GDPR means that B2B marketers may need to look at alternative ways of communicating with audiences to the traditional direct mail and eDM techniques we have used in recent years. At The Think Tank we have been exploring new digital channels for our clients, building knowledge and insight to help them maximise exposure and ROI for their products and services. Some of these channels have been widely used for B2C marketing for some time but now, with improved targeting, they have become accessible to B2B marketers.

We will look at a few of these new digital opportunities, how The Think Tank has used them and our experience of how successful they are.

Programmatic AdvertisingWe have increasingly used programmatic advertising for our clients to target specific audience groups through behavioural and contextual targeting, supported by remarketing. This has been successful in delivering high levels of traffic and brand/product awareness over several geographical regions, including Europe and USA. With a low cost per ‘000 impressions this provides high visibility across digital channels, including mobile, and delivers click through rates of between 0.2 and 0.3%. Setting clear objectives is essential with programmatic to ensure that you get the right result.

With competitively priced placements this can offer a good level of return on investment and can provide an alternative to a wider direct marketing campaign. We have also seen enhanced return rates to client’s websites for months after the activity has ceased, suggesting that there is a longer term impact. However, bounce rates can be high so a strong reason to engage is essential if you are looking to generate enquiries.

1

Benchmark CTR 0.2% to 0.3%

High visibility

across digital channels

Building a large enough

audience can be a challenge

Google Display NetworkThe Google Display Network is often included within wider programmatic advertising, however it can also be used independently and offers a range of targeting options based upon audience groups, interests and keywords. Activity is pay per click based, therefore ensuring your creative is audience specific is essential in delivering quality clicks, otherwise budgets can be eaten up very quickly. We have seen a good level of success from using this channel, with high impression levels and similar CTR’s to programmatic however, similarly your objectives need to be clear to ensure you get the right return on investment. Additionally, taking prospects on a journey towards a purchase is important through the use of remarketing.

2

LinkedIn PPC MarketingLinkedIn has recently developed a variety of new tools for marketers to use to promote to members. With sophisticated categorisation of individuals you can create detailed targeting, right down to a specific company. However, the more targeted you are, the higher the cost per click, so bear this in mind when setting up a campaign.

Display Advertising can be very effective in LinkedIn, however this is only available through programmatic activity and not available to be set up within LinkedIn as a campaign.

Generally you would need to have access to a programmatic marketplace to access this so most companies would use their media partner to implement the campaign.

LinkedIn has just added a range of new targeting methods called Matched Audiences, including Remarketing and the ability to upload your own contact and company data, which LinkedIn will then match to members and suggest similar individuals. The ability to remarket to visitors of your website is a great addition as you can take an individual on a journey with specific content. The matching of your contacts to LinkedIn members however may not deliver great results as most people use a personal email address for LinkedIn, whereas business data will generally be a person’s company email address. LinkedIn are looking at ways to address this issue.

3

New accurate targeting

and extended audiences

Sponsored Update posts are a great way to drive traffic to specific content and encourage audiences to engage. Many members do not realise that these are promoted updates when they appear in their feed and are willing to engage if the content is relevant to them. We have used these extensively to drive traffic to video and literature, and to promote product launches with CTRs that are a lot higher than with programmatic, at between 0.4% and 0.5%. Cost per click is a lot higher for Sponsored Updates but bounce rates are considerably lower.

Text Ads are another option with LinkedIn, however they are not as engaging as Sponsored Updates and should really only be used as a background activity, with a campaign running long term rather than as a tactical promotion. This is reflected in the cost per click when compared to Sponsored Updates, however your brand can gain significant visibility through high impression levels. Click through rates are considerably lower at between 0.01% and 0.03%.

Sponsored InMail is also an interesting option to enhance a campaign and provides you with a direct alternative to eshots. It has been shown to be particularly successful in following up a Sponsored Content campaign. Open rates for InMail are very high at between 30% and 50%. Targeting can be very accurate and the cost to send is low, however you need a strong call to action to deliver good click through rates.

Quality audience and interactionBenchmark CTR of 0.4% to 0.5%

Continual presence

Lower CTR between 0.01% and

0.03%

InMail open rates of 30% to 50%

CTR of between 4% and 6%

A new innovation are Lead Gen Forms, which provide advertisers with the opportunity to use pre-filled forms for data capture. These appear between a member clicking to view your content and reaching your content, removing the need for someone to complete a form on your site but still capturing their data. According to LinkedIn engagement levels for Lead Gen Forms have been very high, with improved levels of data capture when compared with just sending targets directly to a website.

Finally, one of the additional benefits of using PPC advertising in LinkedIn is brand awareness.

Content is shown extensively across the network, and brands are visible, even if the content is not clicked on. This can help to support wider brand and product awareness as a bi-product of promotional activity.

Pre-populated forms capture data in

LinkedIn

RemarketingWe have mentioned remarketing above in the context of both Google and LinkedIn however it is worth highlighting again. Using these channels to re-engage audiences can be successful in encouraging a prospect to take a journey towards a purchase. This requires the development of a series of communications and landing pages that draws the user along a self-selection path. Remarketing also provides a reminder to those who just visit your website to engage further, especially when accessing from mobile devices.

4

Other Social Media PPCFacebook and Twitter also offer PPC targeting for marketers, however the selection criteria of audiences can be quite broad. This means that ROI may not be as high for B2B marketers but whether it is right for your brand and products depends upon your audience and the type of social media they consume.

5

Want to learn more?If you would like to know more about how you can extend your reach and improve ROI please contact Liam Bateman at liamb@thinktank.org.uk, who will be pleased to discuss further.

SummaryThe increased accessibility of digital channels to B2B marketers offers many new opportunities. Improved targeting and reduced costs mean that they are more relevant than ever and allow a new route to engage audiences. The GDPR may have an impact upon how businesses market to their audiences, however these new and improved digital channels can supplement activities or replace them entirely.

The future of direct marketing is not yet fully defined and there is definitely a move towards more digital based activity. Taking the first step need not be overly expensive and as it is mainly pay per click based campaigns that can be switched on and off quickly if they are not delivering the right result for your business.

Re-engage your customers

when they leave your site